1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to storage cabinets for storing an item, such as jewelry, fishing tackle, and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to storage cabinets for hanging-type jewelry, fishing tackle, and any other things that get tangled easily while being stored.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Those who own or maintain large amounts of, for example, jewelry, such as necklaces and other items which hang on the person, frequently face the problem of how to efficiently store such jewelry so that it can be segregated for easy access, and can be readily viewed during storage. In addition, it is desirable that any storage cabinet for such jewelry be as compact as possible taking up a minimum of space, while maintaining the flexibility to store other types of non-hanging jewelry, such as earrings, bracelets, and the like.
Several attempts to solve this problem have been proposed in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,650 to Ferenzi describes a wall mounted cosmetic center which includes a plurality of cosmetic supporting shelves, and a series of holders on the rear of the doors of the cosmetic center, for storing jewelry. Nelson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,001, discloses a jewelry cabinet having three hinged boxes with hinged panels there within. Curtains are shown as separating the jewelry in each box. U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,446 to Le Sage describes a portable jewelry cabinet having a pair of hinged covers separated from the back by a pair of inner closure members. While the above described devices, and others appear to have utility in providing for the storage of jewelry, none of these devices appears to have been entirely satisfactory in providing for easy storage and retrieval of a variety of jewelry, while maintaining a compact size and decorative appearance.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to allow for the easy storage and retrieval of stored items, including hanging type jewelry, fishing tackle, and any other things that get tangled easily while being stored. It is a further object of the invention to reduce the profile of a storage cabinet so as to occupy a minimum of space. Another object of the invention is to improve the outer appearance of a storage cabinet.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To achieve the objects and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the storage cabinet of this invention comprises a first generally rectangular frame for mounting on a wall structure; a second generally rectangular frame hinged for movement with respect to the first frame; and a plurality of transverse members arranged in the first and second frames. The invention also includes supporting means provided to the transverse members for supporting a stored item; and separation means hinged for movement with respect to the first and second frames for segregating the stored item supported by the supporting means of the first frame from the stored item supported by the supporting means of the second frame. The separation means is a flexible sheet for allowing the stored item in one of the first and second frames to intrude into the other of the first and second frames when the first and second frames are closed.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one embodiment of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.